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IMMIGRANTS WERE ALWAYS VETTED IN THIS COUNTRY

As a sort of weekend genealogy buff at one time, I wanted to share something that is often misinterpreted when we say “This country was built by immigrants”. Many people seem to interpret this as “illegal” immigrants built this country. I’m not trying to debate anything here, but just share what I have discovered from my study of genealogy.

When this country saw an influx of immigration in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s it was all funneled through immigration centers such as Ellis Island. It was very difficult to get to America, and ship was the only real means to accomplish this. It was relatively easy to keep track of who was coming into the country and from where, because of this. Ship’s Captains were responsible for the paperwork of each passenger on their ship (somewhat similar – but more detailed - to the form one fills out when taking an international plane flight to a foreign country today). The paperwork was more geared towards the immigration policies at that time. What were the immigration policies at the time that this country was being built? We can find out by looking at the immigration ‘process’ at that time. Fortunately the immigration process at that time has already been immortalized.

First, there was a medical/mental exam each passenger had to go through to be granted permission to enter the United States. Receiving people from foreign countries increased the risk of disease entering the country. This is well documented and these medicals were intended to isolate (quarantine) any individuals that were contagious. If their disease was incurable or disabling, they were sent back to their ports of origin (the ship owner had to pay for the trip back - this discouraged the ship owners from transporting sick, diseased, indigent passengers to America). Medical doctors would inspect each passenger for disease, and, make a chalk mark on the lapel of the passenger which was a coded alphabet system to indicate suspicion of finding a medical or mental problem with that passenger. So clearly, immigrants that came into America were always subject to a medical/mental exam.

Next, each passenger had to have the equivalent of $15.00 U.S. dollars in their pocket so as not to promote vagrancy, homelessness, etc. If they were granted permission to enter the United States, arrangements were made for them to exchange their foreign money to U.S. dollars.

Also, each passenger had to provide the name and address of the person they were staying with. In addition, and most importantly perhaps, they had to have a letter from a U.S. citizen who had a job offer for them which “did not take a job away from a U.S. citizen”. This was done to ensure that unskilled labor from outside the country was not being used to replace ‘skilled’ labor of U.S. citizens for less pay. If a passenger did not have a job offer, he was sent back to his port of origin, again, at the expense of the ship owners that carried him here.

If you were a woman, you had go through all of the above, but you also had to have a male relative pick you up at Ellis Island. You were not released into the streets of the city without a male relative picking you up, because of the fear of promoting prostitution.

In short, there were no welfare or social services programs during that time. No State welfare, no Social Security, no Medicare or Medicaid, no Unemployment Insurance, no Healthcare, etc. You couldn’t depend on the government supporting you. If you came to this country, you were coming here with the expectation and hope of working and contributing to what would be your new home. It was a growing nation and so, immigration could be accommodated. Work could be had. Unfortunately, and sadly, the immigrant that helped build this country is not always the same kind of immigrant that is coming into this country today. The unenforced immigration laws, lax borders and ineffective monitoring and enforcement of the generous welfare and social services programs in this country are magnets for ‘illegal’ immigration. Illegal immigration does not help to build this country and strengthen its economy, but undermines it and takes away and diminishes benefits to those that are legal immigrants and natural citizens of this country. It is hardly wrong to point this out. Social Security and Medicare are on the verge of collapse. Many people are depending on it for retirement. The current national debt is 22 Trillion dollars.

And illegal immigration not only affects American citizens. The very thing that “made America great” was that it had the economic and financial strength to help all over the world and get involved in relieving economic depression wherever and whenever we became aware of it. We also freely offered the assurances of the blood, sweat and tears of our brave soldiers to come to the defense of these developing countries in time of need (people we never met) so that they could put their money to better use for their people. Because of this guarantee, many of these countries only have a local ‘police’ force that ‘doubles’ as a military.

Despite all of this help, the citizens of these countries are still living in poverty while their leaders drink water out of solid gold faucets as their citizens flee to the U.S. for a better life. Great says the leader – one less mouth to (not) feed. This is a very complex subject and the U.S. needs to be economically strong if it intends to help all over the world as we have done in the past. We can no longer afford to secretly send $1.7 billion dollars in cash to foreign countries that hate us without asking questions and getting answers.

So, I just wanted to point out that as a matter of history, this country was built on ‘legal’ immigration, and under this administration it appears that ‘legal’ immigration will continue. The immigrants that helped build this country came here legally. Having ports of entry where there are requirements for immigration and documenting them is nothing ‘new’. Yet the media would have you believe otherwise – why?

In any event, immigration (legal and illegal) is directly linked to our economy, and our economic strength is what has always allowed us – and will continue to allow us to help people from all over the globe. If you are a compassionate being, then this will resonate with you.

JoeMc 4 Mar 22
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Thank you for that

you're welcome...

Thank you for taking the time to read it... i know it was long...

@Sarge45 - Thanks. Yes, a lot of people don’t know the history of this country. It’s understandable in a way, because they don’t teach it in schools the same way they did when we were kids. I have some more things I want to write about, but can’t get myself to write them out. Thank you for reading it.

@JoeMc I don’t mind if it’s long as long as I feel like I’m learning something and I did with this piece you posted

@Clammypollack - Thanks!

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